posted January 01, 2011 09:07 AM            

To distill it down if you were to read just the accomplishments the current admin has sponsored, and the legislative bills that actually managed to pass, it is a feel good moment.

When I remember where we were 2, 5, 8 years ago and compare it to where we are now... allot of change. And vastly better.

My opinions of Obama and what he has/hasn't accomplished have reached what I like to call the two year point. Many of you probably feel the same. There have been writers that liken his modus to the Zen approach which is a convenient catch phrase. I feel it has been a loose the battle- win the war in certain instances. Because- yes some of the change I was looking for was porridge compared to what I wanted. The compromises were hard to take, and certain occurrences were not dealt with well [think BP] but all in all Obama has done some really amazing things, the congress has also done some long overdue legislation.

I feel that this man looks to the long term a heck ova lot better than I do.

Many of us are paying attention now, which is good. We witnessed the decimation of government by Bush 2 in mass somnambulism.
But, like U2 said we are wide awake in America.

I have been very critical at times during the year, but when you listen to some Democrats you would think that nothing has been accomplished and that Obama is a severe disappointment. So I tell them some of the things that have been done, usually they have not heard of most of them. That is the point. It amazes me how effective the PUB machine is at getting their word out.

For instance when you Google the 309 pg amendment to the energy bill that Waxman floated in the dark of night...page after page of right wingers quoting one catch phrase had it viral in mere hours. That was the one Boehner read on the floor the next afternoon to a standing O from his base. But that is just one example, many times throughout the year right wingers would distill down a complex issue to one catch phrase with great efficiency, eagerly distributed time and time again till it was ingrained, and became part of our consciousness. And often it did not represent the facts.

Too bad the good stuff never reaches our ears with the same expedient efficiency.
So I am going to post two of the lists. It is easy reading and some of it I didn't know = and if you're paying attention and still don't hear about it.....well you know what I mean.

Oh, and the daily record is a daily click now. The only way to hear is to go to the horses mouth.

The short form:

• Stimulus bill, generating over 2 million jobs and funding public projects
  
• Eliminating wasteful spending, including F-22 fighter jet program and passing 60% of proposed cuts
  
• Stem cell research
  
• Sotomayor appointment to SCOTUS
  
• Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
  
• SCHIP expansion
  
• Public lands bill
  
• Credit card reform
  
• Lobbying, ethics and transparency legislation
  
• Kagen appointment to SCOTUS
  
• Hate Crimes Prevention bill
  
• Tobacco regulation
  
• National Service creation
  
• Health Care Reform
  
• Troop level draw-down in Iraq
  
• Restored compliance with Geneva Convention
  
• Ended military stop-loss policy
  
• Financial Reform
  Creation of Consumer Protection Bureau with
• Elizabeth Warren appointment as special adviser
  
• Restructure of the student loan program
  
• US support of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

posted January 01, 2011 09:08 AM            

Since coming into office on January 21, 2009, President Barack Obama has:

1. Signed an Executive Order on government contracting to fight waste and abuse: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/economy_in_government_contracting

2. Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtKAKlurRAY

3. Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/04/Afghanistan-and-NATO

4. Announced a plan to responsibly end the war in Iraq: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/28/washington/28troops.html

5. Provided funding to families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/pentagon-will-help-families

6. Ended media blackout on war casualties and the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7986203.stm

7. Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: http://www.recovery.gov/About/Pages/The_Act.aspx

8. Launched Recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, an unprecedented step to provide transparency and accountability through technology: http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx

9. Announced the "Making Home Affordable" home refinancing plan: http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov

10. Launched a $15 billion plan to boost lending to small businesses: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-to-small-business-owners

11. Invested heavily in education both as a way to provide jobs now and lay the foundation for long-term prosperity: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education

12. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America’s Veterans: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/veterans

13. Signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Office of Urban Affairs: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/02/AR2009070201410.html

14. Limited lobbyist's access to the White House: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/obama-outlines-lobbying-restrictions

15. Issued an Presidential Memorandum to restore scientific integrity in government decision-making: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Memorandum-for-the-Heads-of-Executive-Departments-and-Agencies-3-9-09

16. Answered questions at the first online town hall from the White House that were submitted and voted on transparently by the public at WhiteHouse.gov: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h2uzQs2_XBgeHotRBvNhY7DR572g

17. Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities: http://www.serve.gov

18. Launched Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business: http://www.business.gov

19. Appointed the first ever Federal Chief Information Officer to provide management and oversight over federal IT spending: http://www.cio.gov

20. Signed the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act on February 4, 2009, which provides quality health care to 11 million kids – 4 million who were previously uninsured: http://themiddleclass.org/bill/children039s-health-insurance-program-reauthorization-act-2009

21. Issued an Executive Order repealing the Bush-Era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/09/obama-administration-stem-cell-funding

22. Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis: http://www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.ddJFKRNoFiG/b.4442889/k.EC4B/Christopher_and_Dana_Reeve_Paralysis_Act.htm

23. Announced creation of a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record for members of the U.S. Armed Forces to improve quality of medical care: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/09/The-Care-They-Were-Promised-and-the-Benefits-That-They-Have-Earned

24. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/washington/19gates.html

25. Committed to phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdates weapons systems, which weren't even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/06/gates.budget.cuts

26. Provided federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1908954,00.html

27. Provided new federal funding for science and research labs: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/science/18sfstimulus.html

28. Played a lead role in G-20 Summit that produced a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis: http://www.g20.org

29. Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon_Systems_Acquisition_Reform_Act_of_2009

30. Ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay and a review of our detention and interrogation policy, and prohibited the use of torture: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/22/guantanamo.order/index.html

31. Appointed Special Envoys for Climate Change, Southwest Asia, the Middle
East, Sudan, and a Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan: http://www.america.gov/st/peacesec-english/2009/January/20090122175146idybeekcm1.328677e-02.html

32. Empowered states to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/us/politics/26calif.html

33. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect: http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/stimulus/2009/01/08/poll-americans-strongly-back-increase-in-infrastructure-spending.html

34. Increased minority access to capital: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital

35. Developed a comprehensive new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan that will help defeat Al Qaeda and authorized the deployment of more than 21,000 troops to Afghanistan: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032700836.html

36. Signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act which gives the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud, from lending to the financial system, and creates a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial practices that brought us to this point: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/05/obama-signs-hou.html

37. Signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures, providing $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness, and helping to stabilize the housing market for everybody: http://www.zillow.com/blog/mortgage/2009/05/21/president-obama-signs-helping-families-save-their-homes-act

38. Increased, for the first time in more than a decade, the fuel economy standards for Model Year 2011 for cars and trucks so they will get better mileage, saving drivers money and spurring companies to develop more innovative products: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22650.html

39. Issued a Presidential Memorandum to the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators. Through this step, over the next three decades, we’ll save twice the amount of energy produced by all the coal-fired power plants in America in any given year: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ApplianceEfficiencyStandards

40. Unveiled a program on Earth Day 2009 to develop the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. These regulations will enable, for the first time ever, the nation to tap into our ocean’s vast sustainable resources to generate clean energy in an environmentally sound and safe manner: http://www.earthday.org

41. Announced a new U.S.-Mexico border initiative: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Administration-Officials-Announce-US-Mexico-Border-Security-Policy-A-Comprehensive-Response-and-Commitment

42. Concluded cyberspace policy review: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Statement-by-the-Press-Secretary-on-Conclusion-of-the-Cyberspace-Review

43. Announced a strategy to address the international nuclear threat: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-By-President-Barack-Obama-In-Prague-As-Delivered

44. Established a new "U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue": http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Statement-On-Bilateral-Meeting-With-President-Hu-Of-China

45. Announced new policy steps towards Cuba: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/world/americas/05cuba.html

46. Increased minority access to capital: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital

47. Issued a Presidential Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act instructing the Attorney General to issue new guidelines to the government implementing those same principles of openness and transparency in the processing of FOIA requests: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Freedom_of_Information_Act

48. Funded the design of a new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015: http://www.facebook.com/NMAAHC

49. The Executive Order on Presidential Records brings those principles to presidential records by giving the American people greater access to these historic documents, severely curtailing the ability to use executive privilege to shield those documents: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential_Records

50. Signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a hallmark piece of legislation: http://www.democrats.org/a/2009/04/edward_m_kenned.php

51. Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices: http://www.newsunfiltered.com/archives/2010/02/pew_finds_credi.html

52. Signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to provide a coordinated Federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and
families: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/obamas-council-on-women-and-girls

53. Launched a U.S. financial and banking rescue plan: http://www.america.gov/st/econ-english/2009/February/20090210163128saikceinawz0.7537805.html

54. Ordered secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_site

55. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Accord

56. Launched U.S. Auto industry rescue plan: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/31/content_11102980.htm

57. Provided better body armor to our troops: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-03-26-body-armor_x.htm

58. Authorized cutting the missile defense program by $1.4 billion in 2010: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=62548

59. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/25/world/fg-obama-nuclear25

60. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic: http://jonbowermaster.com/blog/2009/04/obama-calls-for-limits-on-antarctic-tourism

61. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, and addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ-SMqh7q3o

62. Supported the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2009/2009-02-16-02.asp

63. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/nov/19/chain-email/chain-e-mail-claims-obama-has-visited-more-countri

64. Managed several natural disasters successfully, including severe winter ice storms and flooding in several states: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drlsi3Ng4jw

65. Provided new car tax credit: http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/new-car-tax-credit

66. Provided attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles: http://www.hybridcars.com/federal-incentives.html

67. Purchased fuel efficient American-made fleet of vehicles for the federal government: http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/06/gsa-buys-210-million-worth-of-fuel-efficient-vehicles-from-us-carmakers.html

68. Endorsed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax havens: http://www.financialtaskforce.org/2009/10/27/the-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act-of-2009

69. Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court. She was confirmed and becomes the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/sotomayor-confirmed-by-fu_n_253146.html

70. Helped reverse a downward spiral of the stock market. On January 19, 2009, the last day of President Bush's presidency, the Dow closed at 8,218.22. Today, the Dow closed at 10,309.24: http://stockcharts.com/charts/historical/djia1900.html

71. Earned an unprecedented success rate of 96.7% on winning congressional votes on issues where he took a position. He did even better than legendary arm-twister Lyndon Johnson who had a 93% success rate in 1965: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122436116

72. Provided affordable, high-quality child care to working families: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/244/provide-affordable-high-quality-child-care

73. Restored America's reputation as a global leader that will do the "right thing" in world affairs: http://pewglobal.org/docs/?DocID=12

74. Issued an executive order to create the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform: http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/18/news/economy/obama_debt_commission/index.htm

75. Increased funding for student loans and pell grants for 2010 students: http://www.ourfuture.org/report/2009031325/obama-s-budget-supporting-students-not-banks

76. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals: http://www.law.com/jsp/law/international/LawArticleIntl.jsp?id=1202433002570

77. Provided tax credit to workers thus cutting taxes for 95% of America's working families: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/sep/18/barack-obama/a-credit-for-workers-cuts-taxes-for-middle-class

78. Cracked down on companies that deny sick pay, vacation and health insurance to workers by abusing the employee classification of independent contractor. Such companies also avoid paying Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance taxes for those workers: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/business/18workers.html

79. Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that made it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/28/hate.crimes/index.html

80. Appointed the first Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Vice-President-Joe-Biden-Announces-Kareem-Dale-As-Special-Assistant-to-the-Preside

81. Signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act authorizing advance appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority thus enabling better medical care for veterans. Endorsed by the American Legion, American Veterans, Blinded Veter...ans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Officers Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Vietnam Veterans of America: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Signing-of-the-Veterans-Health-Care-Budget-Reform-and-Transparency-Act

82. Held impromptu press conference to urge Congress to investigate Anthem Blue Cross and other corporate health insurance companies that raise premiums in high amounts without explanation. Rep. Henry Waxman launches probe. In this case, Anthem Blue Cross wanted to raise premiums 39%. They have now put the increase on hold for two months (as of February 2010). Legislation preventing such increases pending: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100218/hl_nm/us_usa_healthcare_insurers

83. Designated $1.5 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in the states hardest hit by the housing crisis: California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. The MBA forecasts that foreclosures will peak in the last quarter of 2010: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35476054/ns/business-stocks_and_economy

84. Protected 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors through the Recovery Act that would have otherwise been lost: http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2010/02/02012010a.html

85. Extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the nation's unemployed from 9 months to 15 months. Workers laid off between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010 qualify: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/how-to-get-extended-cobra-health-coverage-subsidies

86. Extended unemployment benefits for 2,000,000 unemployed Americans by 20 weeks. At the time the bill was signed 7,000 unemployed Americans were losing their unemployment benefits each day: http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/05/news/economy/Extending_unemployment_benefits/index.htm

87. Eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education which was significantly increased during the Bush Administration to $176 million annually: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/20/bush-teen-pregnancy-cdc-report

88. Rescinded the Global Gag Rule: http://www.guttmacher.org/media/inthenews/2009/01/23/index.html

89. Appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history including more women appointees than any other incoming president: http://www.diversityinc.com/content/1757/article/6319

90. Committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq through the Defense Authorization Act. For your reference: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/132/no-permanent-bases-in-iraq

91. Provided tax credits to first-time home buyers through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 to revitalize the U.S. housing market: http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com

92. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs the largest spending increase in 30 years to improve medical facilities and national cemeteries, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1671

93. Strengthened the Endangered Species Act: http://www.stopextinction.org/media/releases/89-release-president-obama-restores-endangered-species-protections.html

94. Empowered states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves. Fourteen states have allowed some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/new-medical-marijuana-pol_n_325426.html

95. Enhanced earth mapping: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/345/enhance-earth-mapping

96. Increased funding for national parks and forests in 2010, and plans to do it again for FY 2011: http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2010/02_01_2010_obamas_budget_includes_key_funding_for_land_and_water.php

97. Changed failing war strategy in Afghanistan: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/01/obama.afghanistan/index.html

98. Allocated special funding to the Labor Department to provide green job training to veterans: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/466/create-a-green-vet-initiative-to-promote-environ

99. Allocated funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police or firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/188/increase-funding-for-local-emergency-planning